1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to systems for providing communications and search features to users in a particular industry over a network, such as the Internet.
2. Background Information
As more and more businesses in a variety of industries use computers to supply content and information to potential customers, there is an increased need for communications services that can be provided in order to make connections between manufacturers, suppliers and customers. The Internet and worldwide web (WWW) provide a continuous worldwide communication structure that is open to individual manufacturers, suppliers and customers. However, in the global community, so much information exists and so many manufacturers and suppliers have individual web sites, that it becomes an overwhelming task for a user such as a potential customer to search and evaluate each individual manufacturer's or supplier's web site for performance data, costs and other particulars regarding competing products in the field.
Various commerce systems over the Internet have been known in the art for matching a prospective buyer with a seller using which a prospective buyer may place a bid on an item. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,379 (Odom et al.) describes a real-time network exchange with seller-specified exchange parameters and interactive seller participation. But, such services typically assume that the buyer is aware of the item in the first place, and/or these services may not provide the level of detailed information required for making a purchase of a large piece of engineering or manufacturing equipment for a particular engineering design project.
Furthermore, even if a customer knows one or more manufacturers in the field, those manufacturers each may publish catalogs of information about their products and these catalogs may or may not be available on the Internet. Even if they are available online, the volume of information contained in each catalog on each web site makes product comparisons a time-consuming and difficult task. In addition, though the information may be accessible, there still may not be a tool for evaluating the suitability of the product in the design project for which the product is being considered.
Furthermore, customers may be reluctant to contact manufacturers directly until they have more information about the products in order to avoid the time involved in being contacted by sales representatives. Up to now, there has not been a forum in which users could make queries about products anonymously, and manufacturers could contact those users in a neutral site, while the user's identity is maintained as confidential.
There remains a need, therefore, for a service that provides users with a unified source of the most relevant information within their particular industry on a single web site, and which allows for users to find the most suitable products, and alternatives, and to make an informed comparison to aide in the ultimate decision as to the selection of the product that best fits the user's needs.